Imperial Dark & Raspy
Ethereal Brewing

 

 

Taking a page out of the dessert playbook, the brewers of Ethereal combine the flavors of rich, decadent and robust chocolates and coffee, and then combine them with the tangy, bright and juicy counterpunch from raspberries. And with the backbone of imperial strength, creaminess and sweetness and a most after dinner beer is formed.

Dark like stout, the black beer shows ruby and garnet hues at the edges of the glass. As a light creme swirls at the rim, the succulence of berries and the richness of coffee and cocoa seems something out of the pastry shop. Burnt caramel, toast and coffee roll onto the tongue with a roasty, near espresso greeting.

Across the middle palate, the sweetness slowly drifts away and the beer trends more and more toward the fruit rather than the malt. Remaining firmly roasty, coffee and cocoa-like, the creamy taste of burnt marshmallows dissolves and the tangy juiciness of raspberry steps up to control the balance with its dark fruitiness and piquant tartness.

Full bodied and boldly favored, the bitterness of roast easily takes off the sweeter edges of the beer while its berry twang is pleasantly tart and stern with tannic spice and a pectin laced bite. Warm with red wine, the beer's spice influence extends in the finish along with cocoa, coffee and grape skins.